Bovine rumination and estrus prediction system (BRES) and method

ABSTRACT

A bovine monitoring system may include a rumination sensor, a motion sensor, a posture sensor. The rumination sensor may detect chewing by sensing jaw motion. The motion sensor may detect motion. The posture sensor may detect orientation of the bovine asset through detection of gravitational acceleration, detection of gyroscopic rotation, or a combination of gravitational acceleration and gyroscopic rotation. Using the recorded rumination, motion, and posture sensors, the bovine asset monitoring system may identify aberrations in the estrous cycle or physical or mental health of the bovine assets. A bovine monitoring system may include a thermal scanning device to detect localized heating of the vulva area of the bovine asset, which may be used to identify aberrations in the estrous cycle or physical or mental health of the bovine assets.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) fromInternational Application No. PCTUS2014/041772, filed Jun. 10, 2014,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/833,827 (entitled BOVINE RUMINATION AND ESTRUS PREDICTION SYSTEM(BRES) AND METHOD, filed Jun. 11, 2013) which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

Existing Bovine Rumination and Estrus Prediction Systems (BRESs) collectdata only 1-3 times per day when the bovine enters a parlor. These BRESsthen analyze the data in an attempt to predict health issues by posturalbehavior. BRESs may track specific bovine assets, but in existing BRESs,a bovine asset with a specific ID may disassociate the ID with thatasset when the bovine walks into a milk station meant for differentbovine asset.

SUMMARY

A Bovine Rumination and Estrus Prediction System (BRES) may collectreal-time bovine data, and using a low power RF radio, may transmit thecollected data to a receiver that acts as a data portal to a server. Thecollected data may include rumination data, motion data, or posturedata. The server may have an algorithm that stores the data, analyzesthe data, and displays the data on a histogram.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a daily pattern of an outdoor bovine pathaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a daily pattern of an indoor bovine pathaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a sensor-based BRES according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a thermal-based BRES according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 5 is block schematic diagram of a computer system for implementingone or more methods and processors according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific embodiments which may he practiced. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, and it is to he understood thatother embodiments may he utilized and that structural, logical andelectrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. The following description of example embodiments is,therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims.

The functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented insoftware or a combination of firmware and human implemented proceduresin one embodiment. The firmware may consist of computer executableinstructions stored in flash or FRAM memory. Further, such functionscorrespond to modules, which are software, hardware, firmware or anycombination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or moremodules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples.

A Bovine Rumination and Estrus Prediction System (BRES) may collectreal-time bovine data, and using a low power RF radio, may transmit thecollected data to a receiver that acts as a data portal to a server. Thecollected data may include rumination data, motion data, or posturedata. The server may have an algorithm that stores the data, analyzesthe data, and displays the data on a histogram.

The algorithm may “exclusive OR” the current data with the previousday's data, where the day-to-day differences may be used to alert thecaretaker of a postural or behavioral change. These changes may beindicative of numerous ailments or estrus. The BRES may also employ adevice at the entrance to the parlor that takes a thermal scan of thevulva area of the bovine arid transmits this data to the server.

The server may have an algorithm that performs an “exclusive OR” fromthe previous milking event where the day-to-day differences may be usedto alert the caretaker of numerous ailments or estrus. In addition, theBRES may record and analyze historical rumination data, where collectionand pattern matching algorithms may be employed to detect behaviorchanges.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a daily pattern of an outdoor bovine path 100,according to an example embodiment. The path starts and ends at a parlorand may meander around an enclosed or open outdoor area. The path shownis just one example, and may very significantly in different terrainsand for different bovine assets.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a daily pattern of an indoor bovine path 200,according to an example embodiment. Multiple milk stations are shown inthe parlor.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a sensor-based bovine asset managementsensor system 300, according to an example embodiment. A BRES thatutilizes real time data collection every minute as data is transmittedvia a low power RF radio to a receiver that acts as the data portal tothe server. The server has an algorithm that collects the data on ahistogram and “exclusive OR's” the previous days data to alarm thecaretaker of a postural or behavioral change. These changes areindicative of numerous ailments or estrus. The system also employs adevice at the entrance to the parlor that takes a thermal scan of thevulva area of the bovine and then transmits this data to the serverwherein the server algorithm does an “exclusive OR” from the previousmilking event. Localized heating will then be an alarm situation.Historical rumination data collection and pattern matching algorithmsare employed to detect behavior changes.

A monitoring system for use in monitoring bovine assets may include arumination sensor, a motion sensor, and a posture sensor. In oneembodiment, the rumination sensor may be an accelerometer, which maydetect chewing by sensing jaw motion, where a bovine asset typicallyruminates for 450 to 500 minutes per day. The motion sensor may be anaccelerometer, which may detect motion. The posture sensor may be agyroscope, accelerometer, or combination gyroscope and accelerometer.The posture sensor may detect orientation of the bovine asset throughdetection of gravitational acceleration, detection of gyroscopicrotation, or a combination of gravitational acceleration and gyroscopicrotation. Using the recorded rumination, motion, and posture sensors,the bovine asset monitoring system may identify aberrations in theestrous cycle or physical or mental health of the bovine assets. Abovine asset monitoring system may also include a data storage module torecord data from various sensors, and may include a wirelesscommunication module to communicate stored data to a network (e.g., theinternee, the “cloud”). In some embodiments the wireless connectivitywill be WiFi 802.11, Zigbee 802.15.4 or BTLE 4.0.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a thermal-based bovine asset managementsystem 400, according to an example embodiment. In some embodiments, abovine monitoring system may include a thermal image camera and an RFIDpatch. In one embodiment, the bovine assets may be directed throughpassage (e.g. gate), such as at the beginning or end of the day. As theassets pass through the passage, each asset is identified uniquelythrough the RFID patch, and a thermal image of rear view of a bovineasset is recorded. Using various image processing techniques, thermalvariations in each bovine asset's vulva may be used to identify, track,and predict the estrous cycle of the bovine asset.

In various embodiments, the RFID patch may he placed in variouspositions on the bovine asset where data may be sensed. For posturesensing, placing the patch anywhere on the body may be suitable so longas it can detect orientation and acceleration related to posturechanges. For rumination, the patch may be placed anywhere on the bovineasset where muscles or motion associated with rumination may be sensed,such as on a neck. In some embodiments, the patch may be hanging orattached to a collar or necklace. The RFID patch may be configured tocollect posture or rumination data and transmit the data to a passive oractive RFID reader.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing device 500, according to anexample embodiment. The processors described in some of the aboveembodiments may include more or fewer components than those shown at500. Example processors include and 8051 microprocessor or other similarprocessor. In one embodiment, multiple such computer systems areutilized in a distributed network to implement multiple components in atransaction based environment. An object-oriented, service-oriented, orother architecture may be used to implement such functions andcommunicate between the multiple systems and components. One examplecomputing device in the form of a computer 500, may include a processingunit 502, memory 504, removable storage 510, and non-removable storage512. Memory may include volatile memory 514 and non-volatile memory 508.Computer 500 may include—or have access to a computing environment thatincludes—a variety of computer-readable media, such as volatile memory514 and non-volatile memory 508, removable storage 510 and non-removablestorage 512. Computer storage includes random access memory (RAM), readonly Memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) &electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storingcomputer-readable instructions. Computer 500 may include or have accessto a computing environment that includes input 506, output 504, and acommunication connection 516. The computer may operate in a networkedenvironment using a communication connection to connect to one or moreremote computers, such as database servers. The remote computer mayinclude a personal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, a peerdevice or other common network node, or the like. The communicationconnection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network(WAN), Ethernet, WiFi, BTLE4.0, 802.15.4, or other networks.

Computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium areexecutable by the processing unit 502 of the computer 500. A hard drive,CD-ROM, and RAM are some examples of articles including a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. For example, a computer program 518 capable ofproviding a generic technique to perform access control check for dataaccess and/or for doing an operation on one of the servers in acomponent object model (COM) based system according to the teachings ofthe present invention may be included on a CD-ROM and loaded from theCD-ROM to a hard drive. The computer-readable instructions allowcomputer 500 to provide generic access controls in a COM based computernetwork system having multiple users and servers.

The following statements are provided as examples, of variousembodiments.

1. A bovine asset management system comprising: a rumination sensor todetect a daily bovine asset rumination duration; a motion sensor todetect a daily bovine asset motion; a rumination aberration detectionmodule to detect when the daily bovine asset rumination durationdiverges from a known bovine rumination pattern; and a motion aberrationdetection module to detect when the daily bovine asset motion divergesfrom a known bovine motion pattern.

2. The system of example 1, wherein the rumination sensor is anaccelerometer configured to detect jaw motion.

3. The system of any of examples 1-2, wherein the motion sensor is anaccelerometer, and wherein the motion aberration detection module isconfigured to use dead reckoning to determine a daily motion pattern.

4. The system of any of examples 1-3, wherein the rumination aberrationdetection module is configured to identify when the daily bovine assetrumination duration falls below a minimum rumination value or exceeds amaximum rumination value.

5. The system of example 4, wherein minimum rumination value is 450minutes per day, and wherein the maximum rumination value is 500 minutesper day.

6. The system of any of examples 1-5, further comprising: a posturesensor to detect a daily bovine posture; and a posture aberrationdetection module to detect when the daily bovine posture diverges from aknown bovine posture pattern.

7. The system of example 6, wherein the posture sensor is aaccelerometer configured to detect bovine posture by detectinggravitational acceleration.

8. The system of any of examples 6-7, wherein the posture sensor is agyroscope configured to detect changes in bovine posture by detectinggyroscopic rotation.

9. The system of any of examples 1-8, further comprising: a data storagemodule to record data; and a wireless communication module tocommunicate stored data to a network.

10. A bovine asset management system comprising: an RFID patch; athermal imaging sensor to capture thermal images of a bovine vulva; abovine thermal aberration detection module to detect when the dailybovine thermal aberration diverges from a known bovine thermal pattern.

11. The bovine asset management system of example 10 wherein the RFIDpatch comprises:

a rumination sensor to detect a daily bovine asset rumination duration;

a motion sensor to detect a daily bovine asset motion and posture; and

a transceiver coupled to receive information from the rumination sensorand the motion sensor.

12. The bovine asset management system of example 11, wherein therumination sensor comprises an accelerometer to detect chewing bysensing jaw motion.

13. The bovine asset management system of example 12 wherein the motionsensor comprises an accelerometer positioned to detect orientation ofthe bovine asset.

14. The bovine asset management system of example 13 wherein the motionsensor further comprises a gyroscope positioned to detect rotation ofthe bovine asset.

15. A bovine asset management device comprising:

a rumination sensor to detect a daily bovine asset rumination duration;

a motion sensor to detect a daily bovine asset motion and posture;

a transceiver coupled to receive information from the rumination sensorand the motion sensor; and

a patch to support the rumination sensor, motion sensor, and transceiveron the bovine asset.

16. The bovine asset management device of example 15, wherein therumination sensor comprises an accelerometer to detect chewing bysensing jaw motion.

17. The bovine asset management device of example 16 wherein the motionsensor comprises an accelerometer positioned to detect orientation ofthe bovine asset.

18. The bovine asset management device of example 17 wherein the motionsensor further comprises a gyroscope positioned to detect rotation ofthe bovine asset.

19. The bovine asset management device of any of examples 15-18 whereinthe patch comprises an RFID.

20. A method comprising:

receiving periodic rumination and posture information from sensorsattached to a bovine asset;

performing rumination aberration detection via a programmed compute todetect when the periodic bovine asset rumination duration diverges froma known bovine rumination pattern; and

performing motion aberration detection to detect when the periodicbovine asset motion diverges from a known bovine motion pattern.

21. The method of example 20 wherein the periodic information isreceived daily.

22. The method of any of examples 20-21 and further comprising:

receiving thermal images of a bovine vulva;

determining via a computer when a daily bovine thermal aberrationdiverges from a known bovine thermal pattern.

Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, othermodifications are possible. For example, the logic flows depicted in thefigures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order,to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps maybe eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may beadded to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments maybe within the scope of the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A bovine asset management devicecomprising: a rumination sensor to detect a daily bovine assetrumination duration; a motion sensor to detect a daily bovine assetmotion and posture; a transceiver coupled to receive information fromthe rumination sensor and the motion sensor; and a patch to support therumination sensor, motion sensor, and transceiver on the bovine asset;wherein the rumination duration, motion, and posture are used toidentify a health aberration in the bovine asset.
 2. The bovine assetmanagement device of claim 1, wherein the rumination sensor comprises anaccelerometer to detect chewing by sensing jaw motion.
 3. The bovineasset management device of claim 2 wherein the motion sensor comprisesan accelerometer positioned to detect orientation of the bovine asset.4. The bovine asset management device of claim 3 wherein the motionsensor further comprises a gyroscope positioned to detect rotation ofthe bovine asset.
 5. The bovine asset management device of claim 1wherein the patch comprises an RFID.